The British magazine Wanderlust has published its annual The Travel Green List 2024, which selects initiatives and places that make a difference in sustainability. Among more than a thousand candidates from all continents, Valencia is one of the highlighted destinations of this edition for placing sustainability at the center of its tourism strategy and striving to become a carbon-neutral city.
The destinations are chosen by a jury of nine sustainability experts who aim to offer their readers inspiring and honest travel proposals. Thus, this year’s list includes 46 places as varied as Bordeaux (France), Rimini (Italy), Zurich (Switzerland), Slovenia, Scotland, Vienna (Austria), Calgary (Canada), Colorado (USA), the Cayman Islands, and Belize. Valencia is the only Spanish city on the list, of which only 15 are European destinations.
The publication notes that, in addition to being the European Green Capital 2024, Valencia was the first city in the world to certify the carbon and water footprints of its tourism activities. The city maintains initiatives aimed at creating a more accessible and pedestrian-friendly city, such as the pedestrianization of urban spaces and the construction of more bike lanes to expand the existing 200 km. It also values the plan for further expansion of the Turia Gardens, which wind 9 km through the city and are already the longest urban park in Europe.
Promotion in the United Kingdom
Valencia’s positioning as a sustainability benchmark in the British market is the result of a strategy that the Visit Valencia Foundation began to deploy in this country at the end of 2023, leveraging its status as European Green Capital.
This roadmap has led Visit Valencia to carry out various actions, such as a presentation with the media, an informative lunch, participation in the Spain Sustainability Day organized by the Turespaña Office in London, and the management of press trips and engagements with The BBC, The Times, The Independent, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic, and Lonely Travel. Additionally, the Foundation will receive The Guardian in the coming weeks to showcase the benefits of the European Green Capital.
Thanks to this work, over 50 reports have been published in the UK this year, reaching an estimated advertising value of over 117 million euros.
In addition to inclusion in Wanderlust’s green list, this edition features an extensive six-page report on Valencia, resulting from a press trip organized by the Visit Valencia Foundation a few months ago. The magazine has an audience of 110,000 readers, and the estimated advertising value of both pieces is 130,000 euros.
